Despite the terrorist threat, high schools do not have the right to create smoking areas in playgrounds, ruled the administrative court of Cergy-Pontoise.
State of emergency or not, smoking areas in high schools is no. Here is the response of the justice, seized on March 29 by two anti-tobacco associations to contest the creation of smoking areas inside high schools.
The Cergy-Pontoise administrative court ruled on the case of the Paul-Lapie high school in Courbevoie (Hauts-de-Seine). His principal has in fact chosen to let high school students smoke inside the establishment to avoid crowds outside, in a context of state of emergency and threat of an attack.
“Containment protocol”
The argument did not convince the judges, however, who suspended the decision of the head of the establishment on Thursday. In an order relayed by AFP, the court asks the principal “to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Public Health Code prohibiting smoking in schools”.
In a press release, the Minister of Education, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, “takes note of the decision (…) which is in line with his recent remarks reaffirming that the law of January 10, 1991 on the fight against smoking and alcoholism, known as the “Evin law”, must apply in schools and training places, which must be places of exemplarity, prevention and health education ”.
Indeed, the minister was opposed to the creation of these exceptional smoking areas. In a press point, during a trip to Meurthe-et-Moselle, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem explained that young smokers may well go out to consume tobacco, but that in the event of an “imminent threat” to the safety of students , a “containment protocol” will be applied and the students will not be able to smoke.
“It is the confirmation of the illegality of all smoking areas in high schools, including in open spaces”, reacted Stephen Lequet, responsible within one of the two complainant associations, who believes that ” one in two high schools ”would be affected by the creation of these“ illegal ”smoking areas.
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